Dawn Cook was born on 1966 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She grew up in the Midwest as the only girl in a family of boys, and is a self-proclaimed "former tomboy". She grew up reading science fiction and fairytales. She discovered her talent for writing at the age of 15, when she began writing down the stories that she conceived. Despite her love of writing, she took an unorthodox approach to writing, and claims to have avoided English courses beyond the basic requirements in high school and college. After she obtained a Degree in Sciences, she moved to she moved to South Carolina during ten years, but now she has moved back to her home state. She married and had two children. She began publishing after the birth of their kids. After the success of her novels, she was able to resign from her day job, devoting herself to writing full time. She continued publising novels as Kim Harrison. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America and Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.